Overview of AI Part 2

CS123, Intro to AI

Topics
Overview of AI	Generative AI
History and application of AI	Prompt engineering
Machine Learning	Custom chatbot creation
Neural networks and deep learning	Social and ethical issues of AI

Dangers of AI

Bias: AI systems can unintentionally perpetuate and amplify existing biases.
Data Exploitation: AI's ability to gather and analyze massive quantities of data can lead to exploitation of personal information.
Decision Accountability: With generative AI in particular, there is a lack of transparency in AI decision-making processes, leading to accountability issues.
Environmental Impact: The energy consumption of AI systems can have significant environmental implications.
- As of September 2025, xAI's Grok AI data center in Memphis was using 460MW of power from natural gas generators. This is how much power 256,000 homes would use. (Based on 1.8kw per home)

Job Automation: AI could lead to high unemployment rates due to automation of work.
Socio-economic Inequality: The rise in unemployment and AI bias can create socio-economic inequality.
Abuse of Data and Loss of Control: There's a risk of misuse of data collected by AI systems.
Financial Instability: Rapid advancements in AI could lead to financial instability.

Data Persistence: Data can exist longer than the human subjects that created it.
Data Repurposing: Data can be used beyond their originally intended purpose.
Covert Metadata Collection Practices: AI systems can collect metadata without users' knowledge.
Limited Built-In Security Features: AI models often have limited security features, increasing the risk of data breaches.

AI Consciousness and Agency: There's a debate on whether AI can exhibit personhood, including consciousness and agency.
Moral and Legal Status of AI: If AI systems can achieve consciousness and personhood, what will the moral and legal rights of these systems be?
Impact on Humanness: If AI systems appear to be human and we treat them as human, what effect will that have on our human relationships and concept of humanness?
- Hanson Robotics the company that created Sophia, envisions "a future, wherein AI and humans live and work together in friendship and symbiosis to make the world a better place".
  Sophia the robot on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
- Or, if we think of machines as being persons will people begin to think of each other as machines? Will our concept of personhood be diminished? See "You are not a parrot" by Emily Bender.